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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. last — final
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. clip — a video
  6. last — to go on
  7. scale — size or range
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. clip — for paper
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rush — hurry
  17. last — finally
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. scale — in music
  21. wound — an injury
  22. clip — to cut
  23. board — a committee
  24. board — to get on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com